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7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable Edition - How To Use It Effectively

6 min. read

Updated onJuly 5, 2024

updated onJuly 5, 2024

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Are you thinking about using the 7-Zip on Windows 11 portable version for multiple PCs? If yes, read on as I show you how to make the best use of it.

7-Zip stands out for its high compression ratio, extensive archive file support,AES-256 encryption, and easy-to-use interface. Best of all, its open-source status makes the tool available for free commercial and personal use.

It’s also available in a portable package. I’ve tested it extensively before writing this ultimate guide. Read it until the end to learn about its features, how to get the portable package, how to create a disk with it, and more.

What Is 7-Zip Portable Edition?

7-Zip portable is a special edition. Unlike the regular installer, itdoesn’t need an operating system, logical partition, or internal storage. You can install the tool on anexternal or removable storage device,like a USB stick.

Then, you can connect it to any Windows 11, 10, etc. PC and run the app directly from the removable storage. Here’s why you might prefer the portable version of7-Zipover the regular one:

How To Use 7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable

Follow this guide to get the hang of this software:

Create a 7-Zip Portable Disk

The PortableApps website hosts the 7-Zip portable installer package. I’ve downloaded and installed the tool on my PC. I alsorun a deep virus scanusing AVG 2024 antivirus. I couldn’t find any malware or virus in the downloaded installer, so you can rest easy.

Follow these steps to make your own copy of portable 7-Zip:

Compress Files with 7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable Edition

Since this is a portable tool, its functions won’t show up on the right-click context menu. For example, you won’t get theAdd to archiveoption in the right-click menu as you see inWinRAR.

Here’s how you can compress single or multiple files with it:

Securely Encrypt Files

If you wish to encrypt the compressed file, you can add a password using 7-Zip Portable. Here’s how:

Make sure you write down the password somewhere and keep it a secret. You or the recipient of the file archive will need it to unzip the file. Also, if you forget the password, there’s no way you can reset it.

Create Self-Extracting Archives With 7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable Edition

What if the recipient of the compressed file doesn’t have 7-Zip or isn’t technically sound enough to install and operate such tools? In this situation, you can create a self-extracting compressed file.

The recipient only needs to double-click on the file archive and it’ll show an elaborate file decompressing wizard. There, they can choose the destination folder, file-decompressing settings, and more.

Here are the steps to create it:

Integrate 7-Zip With Windows Explorer

If you wish to run the portable version from your PC along with access to 7-Zip tools in the right-click context menu, that’s also possible.

Firstly, copy the 7-ZipPortable directory from the removable storage and paste it into the local storage of the PC. Now, perform these steps:

If your Windows 11 PC user account isn’t an Administrator account, you won’t be able to add 7-Zip to the shell context menu. You’llget the following errorin step 6.

Summary

If you’re here, congratulations! You’ve learned the techniques to run 7-Zip on Windows 11 portable version.

If you don’t like the default user interface style, you can customize the7-Zip Windows 11 Themeusing the Theme Manager app. Also, here’s how you canadd it to the Context Menu.

You can share your suggestions and feedback in the comments below.

7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable Edition - How To Use It Effectively#

What Is 7-Zip Portable Edition?#

How To Use 7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable#

Create a 7-Zip Portable Disk#

Compress Files with 7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable Edition#

Securely Encrypt Files#

Create Self-Extracting Archives With 7-Zip on Windows 11 Portable Edition#

Integrate 7-Zip With Windows Explorer#

Summary#